A Summer To Remember
by the Last Flowerchild
Summary: During a peaceful summer afternoon Merry discovers Pippin weeping in his hiding place,fearful of his tempermental father,Paladin.When Pippin's father discovers the love that his son has for Merry,he vows to tear them apart once and for all.SLASH series.
1. Chapter 1 A Forbidden Love Discovered

A Summer To Remember

Warnings: Slash

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the story, no matter how much I wish that I do. XD Pippin love + Merry

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There was a rushing, seemingly endless creek that cut through the heart of the Shire. Along this creek there were several convenient hiding places, all cleverly tucked away in the dense foliage and brush, and these special hiding places were perfect for secretive Hobbits to seek sanctuary. These hidden places also happened to be the ideal hiding place for terrified Tooks.

Merry knew very well that when Pippin couldn't be seen wandering the Shire he was most likely hiding away in his secret place. These occasions were rare, but when they did occur he had discovered long ago that the best thing that he could do was to just meet him at his hiding place and try in vain to comfort him, whether that meant that he had to wrap his arms around his Pippin and let him rest his head on his shoulder for a bit or just keeping well away and silent.

Merry discovered that today was a 'keep away' kind of day, or so he thought as he shifted some stray branches aside and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his friend sitting amongst the decaying leaves and twigs. "Pippin, what are you doing here?"

Pippin just sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He looked up at Merry, his green eyes sparkling with pain and hurt, his left eye ringed with a blueish--black bruise. He didn't even need to speak to tell Merry what was wrong. It was Paladin Took, Pippin's temperamental father. Merry's eyes filled with tears at the sight of his friend in so much pain.

"Oh, Pip!" he whispered as he fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around Pippin and held him tight. "I'm so sorry! I should have known...I should have done something!" He knew just how absurd that this sounded, but didn't much care.

Pippin just chuckled weakly and scooted closer to Merry, so close that the flatness of their stomachs nearly touched. "But you didn't know, and if you had what could you have done? My father is strong when his temper flares, and I doubt that even you could make him see sense."

"Butwhyhas he abused you so? What could you have possibly done this time to anger him?"

Pippin shrugged and said, though his voice sounded muffled as he spoke into Merry's shoulder, "I...I don't know," he answered slowly as he looked up at his friend. "It all happened so quickly and--" his voice abruptly cut off as more tears leaked out of his eyes. He wiped them away in a sort of embarrassed way. Merry watched him do this, regret swimming in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Pip." he said in a quiet way as he swatted away Pippin's hand and wiped the tears away on his own. Pippin didn't resit, not even as Merry rested his forehead against his own, leaning so close to him that he could smell the ale on his cousin's breath.

A sudden realization had come over Merry the past few weeks. He had come to realize just how much he loved Pippin, just how much he needed him. These odd feelings had been building in him for sometime, and he still hadn't completely figured out what all of them meant, but he realized just how serious they were. Both Pippin and himself were older now, and the carefree days of their childhood was long past. Both Hobbits knew that they would soon have to court some fine lass and be wed, but neither wanted to, especially not Merry. If Merry could have things his way he'd just lie in the summer sun with Pippin all day, holding him tight in his arms, breathing in his scent of oddly tart yet sweet apple and cinnamon, and loving him. The time where he thought these fantasies perverse were long gone; if he felt like he could do it right now without rejection or protest, he would kiss Pippin right here, but he didn't. Instead he just held Pippin in his arms, tried to comfort him, and he did not stop until both their tears had ceased and they sat quietly in the bushes. It was then that Pippin looked at him and said hesitantly, "I've been thinking..."

"Oh, now Pip, you know that that's not good for you." he responded with some small amount of cheerfulness in his voice. It never hurt to try and bring some light to the situation.

Pippin's face remained unsmiling as he pulled away from Merry and, much to the other Hobbit's dismay, scooted a small distance away until he was sitting there in the grass, hugging his knees and staring up at the perfectly blue sky above them. Absentmindedly he twisted a single curl around his finger, making Merry shift a little where he was sitting as he began to drift off into his fantasy world where it was just him and his cousin lying in the sun, holding each other tight...

"Hey, Merry? Let's run away, just you and me."

Merry jumped a little at Pippin's words, startled by both the proposal and the sound of something more than the rushing currents of the creek. He met Pippin's gaze, now completely and, for one rare moment, serious. For a second he didn't quite know what to say, but soon his voice returned to him and he said with some difficulty, "Uh...I really don't think that we can do that now, Pip."

The other Hobbit's face fell and he stared back up at the sky, distractedly trying to cover the pain in his eyes. "But why can't we?"

"Well because we just ca--"

"I'm tired of it," he insisted, "tired of getting rotten glances from Farmer Maggot when he thinks that I've stolen some of his carrots, tried of getting beaten by my father...I haven't got any other friends in this whole world besides you, Merry. Please come with me."

Merry just stared at him for a moment, utterly shocked by this sudden display of raw honesty, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. "B-But Pip, you're wrong! You _do _have other friends besides me."

"Like who?"

"Well let's see...Frodo Baggins for one, and Sam and--"

A slight grin flitted across his face as he looked back at Merry. "Frodo is no fun! He and Bilbo just sit in their tidy little home drinking tea and waiting for Gandalf to come and bring some excitement and fun into their lives. No, he's too dull."

"Well there is Samwise Gamgee. He seems to like you all right." he observed. Pippin just laughed at this.

"Merry, please! Sam? Sam is too wrapped up with Frodo and his dull life to even consider hanging around with me."

Merry shrugged. "Understandable considering that the last time that he hung around with you was a year ago when you pushed him into the creek."

"He had it coming!" Pippin protested as Merry laughed. "No, really! He had...well, can you believe that I honestly can't remember what he did?"

Both Hobbits began laughing and stopped only when their sides hurt and they couldn't breathe. Then, when they were both lying in the cover of the cool grass next to each other, Merry looked over at Pippin and smiled. "There, see? There's no reason to run away when everything is so nice here in the Shire. Not all places are so, Pip."

"Yeah," he said as he absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair and looked up at the sky. "Yeah, but there's that other thing..."

"What?" Merry inquired as he scooted a little closer to the other Hobbit, "Farmer Maggot giving you grief? Have you ever stopped to consider that he thinks that you're stealing his carrots because you _are_ stealing his carrots?"

He laughed but Pippin did not, and as the sun shone brightly down upon him his bruised eye became all too visible. "No, I mean my father. No matter what I do that will never change."

"But.." He didn't quite know how to retaliate; it was true, no matter what Pippin did his father would always hit him for some reason or another, and somehow this hurt even him, and he wasn't even the one receiving the blows! Merry tried to swallow, but found that his throat had become dry. Instead he just reached down and plucked a blade of grass and began to twist it with his fingers nervously.

"I don't want to go home today, Merry. I'm too scared."

Merry looked over at Pippin and was surprised to see that despite the fact that Pippin's tone had remained flat, tears were slowly trailing down his cheeks, leaving shimmering trails behind them. "Oh, Pip." he whispered as he reached over and wrapped his arms around the smaller Hobbit. He pulled him close, so close that their bodies were perfectly fitted together, so that he could feel Pippin's chest rising and falling as he breathed, feel his heart pumping oddly fast. He had never noticed before just how perfectly Pippin fit against him or just how easy it was to wrap his arms around him and never let go.

He sighed and closed his eyes, relished the feeling of Pippin's body pressed against his, and hugged him closer until a nearly inaudible voice whispered in his ear, "Merry, I don't want to leave without you."

"Then don't leave."

"But Merry--"

"Please don't leave, Pip, _please." _his heart jumped a little when he noted just how desperate and pleading he sounded. Pippin just shifted a little then relaxed again, making Merry go rigid with pleasure.

"Why shouldn't I?"

Merry didn't even hesitate before blurting, "Because I'd have to come after you."

Pippin frowned and rested his head in the crook of Merry's shoulder. He smiled. "Maybe I won't. Besides, if I did leave then we'd never get to just lie here like this ever again."

"I couldn't imagine that." he whispered back. It was only now that he realized that his hand was gently rubbing the small of Pippin's back. He felt his body go rigid again as he fought for control, but this did little good.

"Merry?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, you know."

Merry's eyes opened at the sound of his words. "I...I love you to, Pip."

And they both looked at each other for a moment before they were both leaning closer into each other, so close that they were breathing each other's air. Some loose curls were in Pippin's face, so with a careful hand Merry reached out and put them behind his ear; this action made Pippin yield a small little sigh.

Suddenly Merry found himself losing control as he allowed his hands to find their way into Pippin's curly mass of hair and force the Hobbit's mouth against his. It wasn't something that he hadn't planned, only dreamed about, and somehow he found that he wasn't scared as he put his heart on the line. The fear that Pippin might reject him and pull away was only real for a second, because soon he was kissing back, his tongue teasing Merry's eagerly.

When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily, and Merry could feel Pippin's elevated heartbeat as the Hobbit let out a little weak moan and rested his head against Merry's chest. "Oh, Merry, I hate you so."

A sudden flair of fear filled his heart as he stared at Pippin, a worried look in his eyes. "What?"

Then Pippin chuckled softly and began to absently run his fingers through Merry's hair. "You make it so that I couldn't dream of running away." he paused and added, "I couldn't live without you."

"And if you were not in my life I would see no reason to keep breathing." he said back.

They both smiled and grew silent. For Merry nothing could ruin this moment, not even--

"Peregrin Took, where in the name of the Shire are you?!"

Both Hobbits froze and glanced at each other; _it was Paladin! _Merry gasped and his eyes filled with fear. Pippin looked absolutely petrified as the shock set in. He could not move, could not breathe. _Maybe if we just stay quiet then he won't find us..._Merry thought miserably as he held Pippin to him in an attempt to keep him from screaming or if the poor Hobbit did scream, then perhaps it would be muffled.

"Merry, what do we--"

Before he could even finish his sentence Paladin had burst through the brush, his chest heaving and his eyes blazing. When he saw his son laying there in his cousin's arms his eyes became dark and dangerous. "You," he pointed at Pippin and snarled, "on your feet."

Pippin had began crying again, and as he spoke to his father his grip on Merry became impossibly tight. "Please..." was all that he could manage to whisper as Paladin walked up to him and attempted to pry him from the safe arms of his friend. For a second Merry couldn't tell of the pleading 'Please' had been meant for him or Paladin, but in the end he wasn't sure that it mattered.

As he felt Pippin's heat leave his body, Merry snapped back to reality and his senses returned to him. In a flash he was on his feet, trying to rescue Pippin from his father's deadly hold. Paladin was strong, and when Merry tried desperately to grab Pippin from his hands, he resisted easily and dragged his son away from him.

"You just wait, Brandybuck, you just wait..."

"Father, please don't." Pippin begged as he was dragged away by Paladin. Merry just stood there, his arms hanging limply at his sides, the warmth that he had felt in his heart ebbing at a startling rate; he felt sick, and what made him sicker was the horribly pained and terrified look on Pippin's face as his father took him away. Merry sighed.

He knew that he wouldn't be seeing Pippin around for a few days at least.

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	2. Chapter 2Paladin's Rage

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Merry didn't see Pippin around for the next few days. He spent most of his time at the Green Dragon, what had once been he and Pip's favorite place to drink. One day, however, he was surprised to hear the sounds of the Green Dragon's doors opening and Pippin's loud and accented voice.

"But da, I only wanted--"

"Hush now, boy. I'll be right back, but please do try to be useful and find us a table."

"Yes sir."

Thankfully it was very early and not many Hobbits were out and about yet, so Merry could clearly hear the sounds of chair legs scraping the floor as Pippin sat down. In a second Paladin was up at the bar demanding two ales. Merry instinctively lowered his head and tried to cover his face somehow. He could not, absolutely could not be seen! If Paladin even saw him in the same room with Pip, well, that would mean a harsh beating for Pip, even if the two didn't actually talk or make eye contact, and Merry refused to let that happen. No one should ever hurt his Pippin, not ever.

He heard Paladin's voice somewhere off to his right, exactly where Merry wasn't sure, and he surely didn't want to risk a peek over. "Two ales, please." Paladin's harsh voice said, already sounding like he had had one ale too many today.

There was a few seconds pause before he was grumbling, "Yeah, thanks." and the sound of footsteps leading away from where Merry sat.

As soon as he sensed that Paladin was no longer there, Merry let out a little sigh of relief and took a sip of his own ale. It was his first one today. He had made sure not to drink much so that if he _did _see Pip and had a chance to talk with him—or more?--he didn't ruin it by not being sober.

He heard the scuffling of more feet behind him as more Hobbits entered and took their seats, a distance away from both Pippin and Paladin. Merry risked a look back and was surprised to see Pippin sitting a little distance away in a chair facing him. Their eyes locked. Pippin's mouth fell open and his eyes—both of which were surrounded by rings of black bruises now—lit up.

"_Merry?"_

Merry shook his head and pressed a finger to his lips. He mouthed silently, "Ssh, Pip! You have to be quiet or--"

"What's your mouth open at, boy?" Paladin suddenly snapped. Pippin quickly shut his mouth and let out a little squeak of surprise, as if just realizing that he was with his father.

"N-Nothing, sir."

Merry hurriedly turned around in his seat and heard Paladin say, "You'd better mind yourself, boy, or I'll _make _you."

Another terrified squeak and Pippin whispered, "Yes, da. I understand."

"Well you'd better." Paladin said. His tone suddenly became low and growling as he whispered in what he thought was a quiet way, "Why, I won't have any Took in the family, much less me own flesh and blood, runnin' around with another lad. It's disgraceful; do you _want _the other Hobbits to say awful things about you? About our family?"

Pippin whispered shamefully, "No."

"Well if they see you runnin' around with any more lads, that's what they'll do. They'll call ye hurtful, shameful things and they'll do the same to that Brandybuck you been sneakin' round with. What's his name?"

"Merry."

At the sound of his name Merry felt the all too familiar warmness spread through him, and he shivered. _Poor Pip, _he thought distractedly, _he must be so miserable..._

Then Pippin said something that made Merry jump; "Sir, could I please go and get another ale? I'm really thirsty."

And in his usual harsh, cold tone, Paladin grumbled, "Ya, go jump off a cliff for all I care, Pip, just be back by the time I leave here or I'll beat you black and blue all over again."

"Yes sir. I'll be right back."

Merry could hear the sound of hurried Hobbit footsteps a second before he felt a hand on his shoulder and a soft voice whisper in his ear, "Merry, I'm here."

"Thank the Shire you are, Pip." Merry whispered back, turning his head slightly to meet his friend's gaze. "I've missed you a lot."

"And I've missed you, but Paladin has been watching me like never before..." he hesitated before saying, "He makes me follow him _everywhere, _Merr. It gets horribly boring, and the worst part is that if he sees me so much as talking to you he'll--"

Merry reached for his hand and caught it. He didn't let go, not even when Pippin cast a paranoid glance over to his father. "I know what he'll do, and we don't need to talk about that." and for an instant his gaze wavered; Pippin looked so sad, so miserable. What could he do?

As if to confirm this, Pippin let out a sudden sob and looked down at the floor. Merry's eyes searched his face, looking for the slightest sign of happiness. He could find none. "Pip, what's wrong? Please don't do that..."

"I'm sorry, it's just that...oh, please, Merry, _please _don't make me go back over to him. I don't think that I could stand it."

"Well then--" Merry's voice cut abruptly off, the words refused to force their way out of his mouth, no matter how hard he tried to make them. _Well then we could run away..._

"Merry what? What is it? Hurry, tell me before I have to go." Pippin hissed as he took a step away.

His father's voice called to him from across the room, sounding agitated. "Peregrin Took, get back here _now!"_

"Coming, father!" Pippin called over his shoulder before turning back to Merry. "Please," he begged in an almost pitiful way, "Please don't make me go back to him! Plea--"

Merry looked back and could see that Paladin was rising from his chair and hurrying over. In desperation he tried to urge Pippin away with an elbow, but he wouldn't budge. "Merry, what's--"

"Pip, you've got to move!"

Before Pippin could take a step away, Paladin had come over and taken a firm hold on a chunk of his son's curly hair. He glared down at Pippin and hissed, "I leave you alone for one second and _this _is what you do?! What is the meaning of this?"

"Father, please, I--"

Merry just looked down, tried to make himself invisible. This proved useless as Paladin rounded on him. "And you, you disgusting little Brandybuck, making my son give in to your sick wishes."

Pippin opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced as Paladin slapped him. Every other Hobbit in the Green Dragon looked up from their ales and stared with wide eyes at Paladin. Pippin just let out a hurt little gasp and pressed his own hand to his already reddening cheek. Merry's eyes became furious as he jumped out of his seat and glared at Paladin.

"You will not touch him ever again!"

Pippin, whose eyes were now brimming with tears, shook his head at this and said quietly, "Merry, please..." he swallowed and glanced fleetingly at his fuming father. "I can handle it."

"But Pip--"

"You shut your mouth!" Paladin snapped before turning back to his son. "You. Come with me." and he turned to walk away, expecting Pippin to follow. He did not. Instead he stood there staring at Merry in his bruised and teary state looking far more than desperate.

"Merry, please..."

"What, Pip? What do you want me to do?" Merry asked as he turned in a futile effort to hide his own tears. "You want me to go confront your father, or would you rather that I left you alone forever? I can not help you if you don't let me."

Pippin thought about this for another second, and as his father called over to him again, he finally shook his head and lowered his eyes, allowing a small tear to fall from his eyes. "No, I can handle it, but Merry?"

"Yeah?"

"I do love you."

And he turned to go to his awaiting father, to answer to his call, but before he did turn and walk away, Merry couldn't help but call to him, "Pip, I love you to!"

This only seemed to make Paladin angrier, because as soon as he heard Merry's words, he reached over and grabbed Pippin's arm. He leaned close to his son and hissed in his ear, "Come. Let's go."

A look of fear and worry overtook Pippin's face as he whispered back, "But father, I was only--"

But Paladin ignored him and drug him along to the door of the Green Dragon. "Now!" and they both left, slamming the door behind them. Merry just stood there, feeling just as utterly helpless and frightened as Pippin.

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	3. Chapter 3A Drop of Blood & A Revelation

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"You, you pitiful, loathsome excuse for a Hobbit!"

"But Da, I--"

Pippin was cut off as his father's hand once again collided with his cheek, in what would have had to have been the three-hundredth time today—but then again, Peregrin Took wasn't known as a Hobbit who was good at 'knowing stuff', much less counting, so that might be an exaggeration. One thing was for sure, it didn't feel like an exaggeration. With each blow that his father dealt him he felt it sting a hundred times over, to the point where tears were steadily spilling from his eyes and he could taste the smallest hint of blood in his mouth.

The more he begged and cried the worse that it seemed to become for him, but what could he do? His father now knew that he would be willing to openly disobey him if it meant that he could see Merry.

But as Paladin lashed out once more nothing seemed to matter, not as Pippin lay there on the floor feeling terrified, staring up at Paladin as he yelled. "No son of mine will _ever_ disgrace himself so much as to court another lad!"

Pippin took a deep breath as he prepared to explain to him what had happened, but he couldn't get a word out as Paladin's fist collided with the side of his face, producing a loud smacking noise. He let out a horrible screech of pain and curled into a ball, his whole body shaking with sobs and blood beginning to trickle from the corners of his mouth.

"Father, please don't hurt me anymore." Pippin pleaded as he desperately tried to protect his face from more of his father's rage.

"Then swear to me that you will never do anything with Meriadoc Brandybuck again, not even so much as talking to him!"

Pippin swallowed back whatever fear had come over him and hesitated before responding in an unsteady voice, "I...I can't."

Paladin's eyes grew wide with rage. "What did you just say to me?!"

"I said that I can't do that, Da. I could never not talk or even look at Merry." he took a deep breath, bracing himself for the blows that were sure to come as he whispered, "I love hi--"

Before he could even finish, Paladin was on top of him, punching and hurting him in any way he could. "You don't know what love is!"

Pippin didn't quite know how to respond to this so he just said the first thing that came to his mind. "I don't care what you think. All I care about is Merry. He loves me and I love him."

"You don't know what love is!" Paladin spat as he stepped away from his son. Tears of rage ran down his cheeks, and this made Pippin sob harder. What had he done? In some distant corner of his mind he thought that he _deserved _this, that he was nothing more than a dirty, sinful Hobbit, that he should be punished, but somehow he ignored this part and listened to his father.

"No," Paladin continued as he shook his head, "no, you don't know what love is. You're too young of a Hobbit to know what it means...yes, that's why this is happening. You're confused, that's all, this is all just a mere mix up. It has to be!"

Pippin slowly rose to his feet, his balance wavering as he did so. His father had hit him hard; the room was beginning to lose focus, colors were beginning to swirl into impossible vortexes of brightness. He felt his knees buckle dangerously and leaned against the wall for support as he met his father's gaze once more.

With a steady breath he said quite flatly, "No, I'm not confused at all. I love Merry and I don't really care what you think or do."

He waited for more blows to come, for more pain, for more fear, but found none. Paladin just stood there for a painfully long minute staring at him with an empty expression. Finally he said emotionlessly, "Then you can get out of my house."

Pippin couldn't believe his father's words. He stood there just staring at him with wide eyes for what seemed like an eternity until Paladin barked, "Either you get rid of your feelings for this Brandybuck or I'll throw you out. Make your choice!"

"I...I..."

"Boy, you'd better make your choice or I'll..." his voice trailed off as he took a step nearer Pippin, his fist already raised. Pippin shut his eyes and flinched away.

He blurted, "I can't just forget about him!"

"Then you'd better push him to the back of your mind or--"

Without quite knowing what he was saying, Pippin gasped, "Okay, okay, okay, Da, I promise to forget him. I promise, I do, just please, please don't hit me again!"

And this seemed to satisfy Paladin, because as soon as he had heard this he backed away from his son and lowered his fist. With a slight smile of triumph on his face he reached over and slapped Pippin roughly on the shoulder. "That's a good boy, now go wash up before your mother sees you like this. You look an awful sight, you know."

Pippin nodded, feeling utterly numb both inside and out. He still couldn't believe what he had said, and all to save himself a little pain? This is what he thought, but as he looked up into his father's still cold eyes he realized that Paladin had meant to do more to him that just hit him a little if he hadn't said what he had—he actually had meant to_ kill _him.

As Pippin turned to walk away to the bathroom he thought miserably, _No, no, that's not right! He's my father, and he loves me...he loves me? Does he truly? _And he swallowed as he opened the bathroom door and went over to the mirror.

One thing was sure, Paladin hadn't lied when he said that Pippin was an awful sight. From both corners of his mouth there were crimson dribbles of blood, and as Pippin swallowed he could taste nothing but the stuff, so metallic and warm. There was a gash on his right cheek. With wide eyes Pippin watched blood steadily trickle from the open wound, and with a careful hand he reached up and slowly ran his fingers through the shining liquid. It was almost wonderfully warm, but as he tried to desperately wipe it off with his sleeve he found that it left pinkish stains running down his cheek, making him look almost like a clown.

Suddenly tears were flowing again as Pippin backed away from the mirror and sat down on the ground. He hugged his knees and finally allowed himself to cry. Despite the overwhelming pain that now gripped his entire quaking frame, he could not help but think of Merry. Would Merry still love him? He couldn't bare the thought of him loving anyone else, but what could be done of they couldn't be with each other any more?

Pippin felt a tear wind its way down his cheek, and when he looked down at the floor, he saw a small splash of light pink, almost clear—a once pure tear mingled with blood. Tainted with it.

Destroyed by it.

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	4. Chapter 4Paladin's Headache

_Final chapter. Thanks for reading & reviewing._

_Hope you enjoy. ^_^_

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This was it—just Merry and Pippin. Perfection. As Pippin let out a small sigh and shifted in Merry's arms he couldn't help but inquire, "This is so nice, isn't it, Merry?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Pip. It sure is." and he planted a small kiss on the top of the other Hobbit's head. Pippin glanced up at him, his green eyes alight with affection.

"I love you, Merry."

"And I love you, Pip."

"How much?"

He smiled in thought and said, "More than..."

"More than everything else in the Shire?"

Merry shook his head at this. "No."

Pippin frowned and a look of concern came across his face as he asked, "What?"

He grinned. "No," he continued, "I love you more than anything Middle Earth—no, more than anything universe." as he said this he wrapped his arms around Pippin and pulled him closer. The other Hobbit just grinned and rested his head on Merry's chest.

"And I love you, Merr, just that much and more."

Merry laced his fingers through Pippin's curls and guided their lips together. Both Hobbits smiled as their lips met, and they only broke away when they were completely out of breath, panting and breathless.

"How much, Pip? How much do you love me?" Merry asked once he caught his breath.

He smiled thoughtfully and said, "A lot." and paused before adding, "Merr, promise that we can just stay here forever and ever. Run away with me. Merr, run away with me..."

Merry gasped and his eyes popped open. He was laying in his bed, his room totally pitch dark. Outside his open window there were stars winking at him in the cool night air, beckoning him towards their rays of platinum, pure light. In an instant his dream had evaporated into thin air.

The Hobbit sighed tiredly and rolled over in his bed. This night marked the extremely long, excruciating second day that he and Pippin had been apart. He couldn't imagine what Paladin had done to his Pip, only that he was quite sure that it was bad...terribly bad...perhaps _severely _bad.

_Perhaps he's lying in his room right now thinking about me. _Merry thought as he rubbed his half-asleep eyes. And he whispered aloud, "God, I hope that he's alright."

His voice was cracking and broken. Tired.

Stifling a yawn Merry closed his eyes and pulled his covers up in a meek attempt to go back to sleep, though he knew quite well that he wouldn't be able to. Instead his mind began to drift away, to thoughts of his Pippin, and soon, only when he was quite lost in the memories, did he remember the words that his friend had spoken what seemed like an eternity ago.

_Hey, Merry? Let's run away, just you and me._

And it was at that moment that his mind snapped back to the present and he cursed himself aloud for his foolishness. "Confound it all, Meriadoc Brandybuck! Perhaps if I hadn't been so stupid and gone with him none of this would've happened! He wouldn't have to face his father and I...well, I could be with him forever, as much as I wanted."

Merry shook his head and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. _Please let him be okay...please just help him not to get hurt too badly...please, _He prayed silently to a God he didn't know, _I love him._

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The truth of the matter was that Pippin was badly hurt, but not in the way that Merry believed him to be. He had long since stopped feeling the pain of the blows that his father dealt him daily for his disobedience; instead he had began to feel a steady, heavy sort of sorrow at not being able to see Merry.

It weighed him down immeasurably, to the point where he could barley drag himself out of bed or eat—in face, lately he had taken to keeping to his room with the door locked, thinking back to a time when he was happy. Ironically, all of these happy memories could only be found with thoughts of things that he and Merry had done together. Whether they be mischievous memories like when they had stolen from Farmer Maggot's crop, ones where the two Hobbits had attended parties, or birthdays, they were always filled with memories of Merry...the smell of him, the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed...they seemed all that he he had left now.

Pippin sighed as he shifted in his bed and looked up at the dark ceiling. He was exhausted, but when he tried to get some rest he no longer felt the sweet relief that sleep brought, only the heavy sadness that plagued his heart. He was restless, unable to sleep, but when he got outside and tried to do something with his unused energies he felt utterly ill.

"Oh, Peregrin, what have you gone and gotten yourself into now?" he wondered aloud just then. He swallowed and felt a too familiar lump forming in his throat as tears swelled at the corners of his eyes. He was exhausted and aching. Every part of him screamed, mostly due to the fact that his stomach was begging for food but he was refusing to eat, and his father's temper.

Inside a part of him begged for relief, to just move on and love Merry wordlessly, but another part said that this was totally hypocritical and wrong. _After all, _he often found himself thinking while he was alone or getting yelled at by Paladin, _love wasn't made to be easy, was it? _

But tonight he wished that it _was _made to be easier. As Pippin closed his eyes and sighed, he heard a soft knocking at his window. His green eyes popped open, and as he wiped his tear-blurred eyes he saw the silhouette of a Hobbit standing outside his window in the darkness, beckoning him to let him in. Pippin gasped, hopped out of his bed, and threw the covers off of him. He hurried over to the window and unlatched it. Merry let out a grunt as he struggled to climb through the window, but as Pippin reached out to help him he was sent sprawling on the floor as the other Hobbit fell inside with a loud thud.

"Ouch! Merry, I--"

"Ssh!" Merry hissed as he pressed a finger to his lips and nervously glanced at Pippin's bedroom door. "You have to be quiet or Paladin might hear us."

Pippin nodded and allowed Merry to help him to his feet. "Sorry, I guess that I just wasn't expecting you is all." and he backed away for a second and both Hobbits just stared at each other until Pippin let out a little sob and launched himself into his friend's arms, wrapping his arms around his neck, trying to stifle and choke out his joyous sobs.

"I haven't seen you in so long! What's happened to us?"

Merry didn't have an answer for that, so he just kissed the top of Pippin's head, just as he had in his dream, and hugged him so close that they weren't a centimeter apart. Once again he felt the same unity with Pippin that he had felt the first time that he had held him, those many weeks ago in the hiding place by the creek. They fit against each other perfectly.

He swallowed and said the words that he had never dared to say before. "Pip, I thought that Paladin might have...well, that he might have actually _killed _you by now, I haven't heard anything from you in so long...but you're okay, aren't you? He didn't hurt you, did he?" and he pulled away and leaned down a little so that he was on the shorter Hobbit's level. Merry took Pippin's face in his hands and he began searching it up and down for any signs of injury, and this made the other Hobbit grin a little.

"I may not be that bright, but even I know that that's a silly question."

And as he said this Merry noticed the healing purplish bruises that ringed poor Pippin's eyes and he shook his head. "Oh, Pip. We've got to do something about this! We've got to!"

Pippin's eyes lit up as he asked, his voice barley above a whisper, "Can we run away?! Remember, just like I asked before, just you and me?"

He didn't answer at once; he was too shocked. For a moment he actually considered saying yes, but instead he did the responsible thing and shook his head and kissed the other Hobbit's forehead tenderly. "No, love, you know that we can't do that. There's no way that that could ever..." but his eyes ventured to the healing cut across Pippin's cheek, one that he had failed to notice, and his blue eyes shined with sorrow. As he reached out to touch it, Pippin pulled away, shaking his head.

"If you don't want to that's fine, just don't feel bad for me. I'll go by myself. I can manage." and Pippin turned and walked towards the opened window. He said softly, more to himself than Merry, "I could make it out of the Shire before daybreak and Da would never know...he'd never catch me."

Merry went up to him and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Pip, like I told you before, I don't think that we can run away together—it wouldn't sit right with every other Hobbit in the Shire, but you could always go away for a bit and I'd _have _to go after to fetch you."

Pippin turned to him, his eyes glowing brightly and cheerfully. "But what happens if Da comes after us?" He asked this as if it weren't actually a question, only a test of Merry's determination. The other Hobbit didn't let him down with his answer, though.

Merry thought about this for a second, frowned, and finally shrugged. "Then I'll hurt _him." _they both laughed quietly at this until he said seriously, "We've got to get you out of this place, Pip. I'm scared that if I leave you too long Paladin will...well, he might do something awful to you, and I couldn't live with that."

"Then let's go!" Pippin said happily as he struggled to get a good grip on the window ledge and attempted to pull himself up.

Merry laughed at this and gave him a boost onto the ledge. "Fine, but you'd better be careful climbing out of that window. You might--" Suddenly Pippin let out a yowl of surprise as he lost his balance and fell from the ledge onto the ground outside. Merry grinned and looked over the ledge.

"Are you okay?" he called down.

Pippin nodded and whispered back up, "Yeah, but hurry. I think that Da mighta--"

"Peregrin Took, just _what _are you up to in that room of yours?"

His father's voice cut through the darkness startlingly loud; Merry jumped at the sound and his eyes grew wide as he bolted onto the window ledge and struggled to regain his balance. Just as he did so, Pippin's bedroom door flew open and Paladin entered, his face red with rage. As he set his eyes on Merry, he shook his head in astonishment.

"_You?! _What are _you _doing here in my son's room, Brandybuck?!"

"I..." his voice failed him for only a second before becoming strong and resilient once more. Merry glared at Paladin and declared, "I've come to take Pip away."

Paladin laughed. "Oh, have you? And since when was my son _your _responsibility?"

"Since I first heard him laugh—that's when I fell in love with him." he said this last part knowing just how angry it would make him. Paladin let out a roar of anger and launched himself at Merry, his fists raised and poised to strike anything that came across their path.

Merry dodged the first blow easily, and come the second he had had ample time to dart over to Pippin's bed, take the old, chipped glass plate that Pippin still had some of his supper sitting on, and raise it above his head. Paladin didn't register this until it was too late, and the plate collided with his head. A loud crashing could be heard as the plate shattered into big pieces of sharp glass and food was thrown everywhere. In an instant the floor was covered with glass and cold food, and the walls were covered in dripping bits of chicken from the plate. Merry grinned wickedly as Paladin staggered back a few steps.

The Hobbit's eyes rolled back into his skull and he fell limply to the ground. Merry just shrugged passively and bent down to pick up a bit of chicken that had been on the plate. He bit into it, winked at the now unconscious form of Paladin, and said merrily, "And good day to you to, Mr. Took." and he wandered over to the window and leaped out.

ooo ooo ooo

Once he was outside in the cool evening air, Pippin hurried over to him, looking absolutely terrified. His eyes nervously passed over Merry's face as he asked, "What just happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Are we still going away, or--"

"Now that's a stupid question, Pip." Merry said kindly as he reached over and threw the half eaten chicken off to the side. "I've been listening to you ramble on for a while, but so far that's the silliest thing that you've said; _are we still going away? _Well of course we are! But let me warn you, because once we leave I don't intend to return any time soon." and he laughed at the look of confusion on Pippin's face and kissed him swiftly on the lips before continuing down the path that led to the main road of the Shire; their way out.

Pippin hurried to catch up. "But I thought that Da would surely have--"

"Well goodness, Pip, don't try to seem too overconfident in my abilities to defend you." he interjected as they walked along. The other Hobbit just shook his head.

"I am not, I was just...well, you didn't..._kill _him, did you?"

Merry shook his head and reached for his hand. He squeezed it reassuringly and said, "No, but I should have. He had it coming, after all, but I let him off. He's not dead, but when he comes to he'll have a horrible headache, I expect, and that's more that he deserves..."

Pippin shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Merry turned to him questioningly. "What? After all of that you don't think that he deserves to be dead? After what he did to you?"

Once again he shook his head. "No. I would never wish that on anyone, not even someone like my father, even if he..." and his voice trailed off before he turned his hopeful gaze on Merry and asked, "We're never coming back, are we? Never as long as we live?"

He smiled, and as he and Pippin walked down the path he looked up at the sparkling stars he said softly, "No, I don't expect that we need to. We've quite outgrown this place, I think, and it's time that we move on to bigger and better things now." and he reached over and wrapped his arm around the small of Pippin's back. He pulled the other Hobbit close.

And now his mind didn't wander off to a time where it was just him and Pippin lying alone in the sun, holding each other close. Instead it remained right where it was, firmly rooted to the present, because there wasn't any need for those silly fantasy games anymore; he had gotten everything he wanted and needed to live tonight. He had gotten his Pip back, and nothing could ever take that away from him.

Somewhere deep down inside of him thoughts and emotions had begun to stir and become terribly, wonderfully mingled into one, and Merry, being a young, growing Hobbit still hadn't a clue what they meant, only that they were there. And in still some deeper part of him the thought began first blossoming then flourishing in his subconscious; _This is really going to be something, just me and him...we'll remember this summer forever, no matter what happens. Sure, we'll come back here as soon as things get terribly bad, but for now it's all okay because we have each other. _

And for that one moment it all seemed like some silly, childish game that he had Pippin had played when they were young, but as he felt the other Hobbit sigh and press against him, he knew that it wasn't.

Merry knew that this was as close to perfection as perfection could be.

ooo ooo ooo

_That's it. I hoped that you enjoyed.  
Reviews = love and are always appreciated._

_Thanks for reading._

_Peace & love to you._


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